After Her (Paperback)

September 2013 Indie Next List

“Loosely based on a true Marin County, California murder case in the late 1970's; part thriller, part love story, and part family narrative. Two young inseparable sisters enjoy spending their school vacation time on the mountain near their home until a series of murders intrude on their games, bringing a danger and division into their lives. A masterful piece of storytelling with bits of humor to offset the suspenseful emotions; ending thirty years later with a promised vindication.
-Carol Hicks, Bookshelf, Truckee, CA”
— Carol Hicks, Bookshelf At Hooligan Rocks, Truckee, CA

Description

Marin County, California, summer, 1979. When young women start turning up dead on the mountain behind the home of Rachel and her devoted eleven-year-old sister, Patty, their father a larger-than-life, irresistibly handsome (and chronically unfaithful) detective is put in charge of finding the "Sunset Strangler." Watching her father's life slowly unravel as months pass and more women are killed, Rachel embarks on a dangerous game to catch the killer. Her actions will destroy her father's career and alter forever the lives of everyone she loves. Thirty years later, believing that the wrong man was arrested for the crimes, leaving the true killer at large, Rachel constructs a new strategy to smoke out the Sunset Strangler and vindicate her father and discovers more than she bargained for.

Loosely inspired by the Trailside Killer case, After Her is part thriller, part love story a poignant, suspenseful, and painfully real family saga that traces a young girl's first sexual explorations, the loss of innocence, the bond shared by sisters, and the tender but damaged relationship between a girl and her father that endures even beyond the grave.

About the Author

Joyce Maynard is the author of seven previous novels, including To Die For, Labor Day, and The Good Daughters, and four books of nonfiction. Her bestselling memoir, At Home in the World, has been translated into sixteen languages. Maynard's bestselling novel Labor Day was adapted for film by Academy Award-nominated director Jason Reitman and stars Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin. Maynard makes her home in California.